Rishard Densmore had his whole life ahead of him.

The Bessemer 21-year-old was set to take the field as quarterback at Miles College as he tried to work his way to a career in the NFL, and he was a father two toddlers whom he adored.

But that life was cut short one year ago today when a gunman opened fire on him in a targeted attack in Lipscomb.

“The past year has been dreadful,’’ said his mother, Donnietha Densmore. “It’s been non-stop torture for me.”

Even worse, she said, is that no one has been held accountable.

“I want them to have a conscience and come forward and say, ‘I did it and it was a mistake,’’ Donnietha said. “He did not deserve what they did to him. It was not meant for him.”

The former standout quarterback at Bessemer City High School, Rishard was killed June 17, 2023.

The shooting happened before 4 p.m. that Saturday in Lipscomb.

Authorities said Rishard was shot near the entrance to Woodward Estates mobile home park in Lipscomb.

According to reports, Rishard was exiting the neighborhood when another vehicle pulled up alongside him and began shooting at him.

Though shot multiple times, Rishard was able to flee the scene. He later crashed his vehicle in the 900 block of 24th Street North in Bessemer.

Passersby found the victim inside his vehicle. Their interaction with him was recorded on a cell phone and shared on social media but has quickly been taken down.

Those trying to help him could be heard telling him repeatedly to breathe, and that help was on the way. They noted multiple bullet holes in his vehicle.

Rishard was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m.

Family and friends gathered Monday evening in Bessemer to release balloons in his memory.

“His smile was amazing,’’ Donnietha said. “He was a great person in and out. He would help anybody.”

A clear motive has not been established but family believes he was killed in retaliation for a deadly shooting that happened the previous day, a killing that happened while he was at football practice.

“He didn’t know what was going on,’’ his mother said. “Why would they target him?”

“They took him away because he was affiliated with someone else,’’ said his uncle, Ezakeous Brown. “He wasn’t a part of it. He was there. It was a mistake.”

“All he knew was football,’’ Brown said.

Rishard was a standout athlete at Bessemer City High School. After graduation, he signed with Alabama State University, choosing the Alabama college over Kentucky, Tennessee, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Troy and UAB.

He had been named a three-star athlete by 247 Sports.

Rishard dreamed of making a career out of football and taking care of his mother, siblings, and his own son and daughter.

“He was the best at what he did,’’ Brown said.

“He was a father to not only his kids, but his younger siblings,’’ Donneitha said, adding that he was also a mentor to young athletes throughout Bessemer.

“That was my baby,’’ she said. “It doesn’t feel real that he’s not here anymore.”

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 or the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 205-325-1450, option 2.